When the Devils core group of forwards plays, the rest of the team seems to follow. We look today at why it is important they stay consistent and right the ship from the last two games as early as tonight.
Upon the New Jersey Devils acquisition of Timo Meier just prior to the 2023 Trade Deadline, the team looked poised to be dangerous for a long time. Adding Meier to a group that already included Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes gave the Devils four legitimate offensive threats that they could surround with support talent to bring the team back to relevance after a decade of mostly disappointment. While the 2023 playoff run ended earlier than all would have hoped, Bratt and Meier both re-signed long term in the summer. The stage was set for the Devils to take the next step in 2023-24.
Then last season happened, and between injuries, goaltending and inconsistent play, the Devils went back to being a non-playoff team. Moves were made in the summer to address the areas where the team stumbled. The core, as expected, did not change; the Devils made adjustments to augment what they already had. While some core members got off to slow starts (like I mentioned with Jack Hughes last week) others, namely Hischier, started off on fire out of the gate. Performances have waxed and waned throughout the season so far, with Bratt as the exception for his mostly consistent play. With said players have successes and struggles, the team has followed suit.
In games where the core has struggled to score, so has the team. While there have been other players who have contributed offensively (Stefan Noesen being the biggest name here), the team tends to add more points to their season total when the stars are adding points to their individual ledgers. And honestly, this is true for a lot of NHL teams; that’s why those players get the big money contracts and why they are typically leading the league in one or multiple categories. The teams with core players who don’t score as often are the ones who tend to struggle. New Jersey is in a pretty good spot, but their core isn’t immune from bad games.
For this Devils group, I’d like to see their core players step up against some tougher teams. The most recent pair of games against Colorado and Toronto are good examples of this. To score only one goal across those two games with 64 shots on goal is insane; the only core forward to record a point on that goal as well was, as you could have guessed if you didn’t know, Bratt. For a combined almost $32 million, that’s not good enough results even against two other teams that are playing well. I know three of the core four are leading the team in scoring, and Meier is playing well despite some droughts, but I still think it’s acceptable to want more from them. Yeah, there have been some large individual point games, but finding ways to contribute points in games where things aren’t going as well needs to become the focus. Again, give these guys credit for where the Devils are, but make sure they know that a game like the one against Toronto absolutely can’t happen again this season; find a way to solve whoever is in the opposing net.
Could we ask for a big more from Timo Meier and maybe some more consistency from Nico Hischier? Sure, but they’re not playing bad. Could we desire Jesper Bratt ad Jack Hughes to dominate on a nightly basis? Sure, but also maybe not a reasonable ask. The Devils core group ahs been a big part of why they’ve seen the success they have to this point in the season. At the same time, a little extra scrutiny of moments where they all underperform might help to light the fire under them for the next string of games. Because as we said before, as their performances go, so do the results for the New Jersey Devils.
What are your thoughts on the play of the big four forwards for the Devils; do you think their performances have been where they need to be so far this season? Do you credit them for being the reason or part of the reason why the Devils have been successful now that we’re a third of the way through the season? Any areas you see them needing to improve in? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!